Semi OT: What defines a good collection?
I have tried giving this question some serious thinking previously, but end up not following through my thoughts, as I tend to get lost in the myriad of beautiful timepieces created, past and present. So, the question is, what constitutes a good collection? Are you a 'one man band' or do you prefer diversity? Let's just say there is no one way to answering such a question, but the important point here is that this collection should represent your taste and preference in horology.
From a greenhorn's perspective, I'd like to stick to the old adage that 'variety is the spice of life'. However, I've witnessed my passion for Panerai develop strongly over the years, and it is somewhat difficult to diverse beyond Panerai -- also, the financial constraint is a big reason. Ideally, I'd like variety amidst a well balanced collection, so brand wise, I'd like to have a mixture of Panerai, AP, IWC, FPJ, UN, Romain Gauthier and maybe say, Sarpaneva, just to keep things a little 'quirky' : ) However, the likelihood of achieving 'equality' in my collection is diminished when my Panerais heavily outweigh the others, and the solution to that is to buy more of the other brands to make the collection look 'balanced'. But, as mentioned, the financial constraint is always in effect, so equality to me cannot be achieved at this point.
Therefore, to make things look a little more 'balanced' to my liking, I diversify within Panerai. Appropriately, I would like to own all the different categories such as the Luminors, Radiomirs, Submersibles and Mare Nostrums. Within each category, I would diversify further by materials used (i,e, PVD, titanium, SS etc), dial color and series. Then of course, I would further scrutinize my collection by looking at the various time periods, from post-vendome to A series, Pre-A series to pre-vendome and to the vintages, special editions/ de facto SEs and non SEs etc. So while I pursue my collection in this manner, I can say for sure I won't be able to have an ideal collection by acquiring more of another brand 
I am interested to know the collection that constitutes your taste and preference in horology, or simply even your taste and preference concerning your Panerai collection 
)
And just to make things look a little more interesting, I would like to share with you'll a fine looking piece that just joined the 'stable'.
Lady Mare, the one that got away, but found it's way back
Hope to hear your views, and have a great coming weekend!
A watch in each category?
Of course, that makes sense!
But I wouldn't diversify more.
What I should to do get an ideal collection ( well, that is really subjective ), is to own the king of each category:
A Vintage: Certainly the Small Egiziano.
A Luminor: The Logo or the MM are hard to beat ( Pre V for both of them, of course ).
A Luminor Marina?: The 36 / 40 are the most appealing, to me; for their rarity and mystery ( Pam 40 ).
A Mare: The Pre V!
A Rad: The Cali or the 3646 ( preferrabily the Vintage ), but if not the 232 / 249.
A Sub: The 64!
And last but not least: The Arktos, which is an hybrid of the Sub and the Luminor Marina, for its history, and because, IMO, this is the most interesting creation in the Vendome Range...
Aaah, Gastby...
I almost forgot...
Huge congrats for the 5218-301/A!
It will make a great duo with your awesome Pam 6!
A Duo I dreamt about, and I was never able to realize!
Best, my friend.
Nicolas
For me, a good collection is diversity
There are some who like to collect watches in a particular sector, like all chronos, all time only, etc. I like more diversity in my collection so I try to buy pieces which are more different where no really isn't any overlap in my watches, ie: If I have a 44mm PVD Panerai w/ ETA movement, I will not get a 44mm PVD Panerai w/ in-house movement since it is too redundant for me. I won't even get a 47mm PVD Panerai either.
In the end, everyone has different tastes so their definition of a "collection" will always be different. But the best indicator of a good collection is whenever you have all your watches in front of you, if you don't have a big smile on your face, then u need to seriously reconsider your collection! A collection should bring you joy instead of frustration.
Cheers,
Anthony
Hey Gabriel
Of course, I can only offer my opinion, and I venture so since I think I have been in a similar situation.
I find myself in a position where owning many pieces simply doesn't make sense. It doesn't stop me from wanting them though.
So how I go about it is by simply collecting experiences. Luckily for me I am comfortable with the idea of temporary ownership (except in rare exceptions) and while I commit emotionally I never pre-dispose to ideas like "heirloom watches", I work in marketing
I too have been Panerai centric, though I must admit other brands interest me more these days. Also uncomfortable by pre-disposed ideas of what it means to be a "Paneristi" but that is another topic all-together.
But I think that a few Ideas should be in the collectors set:
- should own the first dream watch you obsessed about. In my teens I dreamt about a Daytona, my father had one........I did too......check.
- should own a watch that makes you be over the James Bond Cliche................maybe an Omega, but hopefully a Rolex ;-).......check both
- should own a big watch that looks cool but nobody knows what it is........Panerai early 2000s.......check
- should own a watch that is fairly limited, your watch friends oogle about...............several Panerai A's pre-As.....check
- should own a watch that makes you feel like you are part of horologie............my first Patek, VC, APs.........check
- should own a watch that rebels against horologie establishment............Patek Aquanaut..........check
- should own a watch that gets the attention of dubious girls.........any solid gold model.............check more that twice ;-)
- should own a watch that makes you think that the value is certainly not in the watch............severeal models...........check
- should own a watch where you get picked to be on the list................Yes, I was picked once, but my name hasn't been on other lists......check
- should own a watch that has a meaningful history.................yes, luckily it was personal.....check
- should own a watch that is expensive and it makes you uncomfortable.......yes, dangerous zone..........check
- should own a watch that is simply high end fashion but you like it..........yes BB all the way!......check
- should own an iconic watch.........yessssss several, RO, Submariner, Calatrava, Overseas, Daytona, Base Panerai, JLC Pola others........check
- should try to make your watch............yes, a couple times, make some silly people very angry........check
- should be moved by your own intuition, make some silly decisions...........yes, will remain nameless...........check
- should own the perfect watch..........tried many times, but it doesn't exist..........unchecked
Gabriel, would love to meet you one day and talk about collections. I am not a collector in the classic definition, but I have collected experiences and my fair share of smiles
Cheers from SoCal.
Guille
Some very interesting points made
Guys, appreciate the responses very much. I find this as a very difficult topic to put in words, but I'll try my best. I must add, that occasionally, I rate a certain collection of watches that are less desirable (in which I mean, less coveted by the masses) higher, than a collection of watches that are fairly/very desirable, but without a theme -- of course, my rating is subjected to my personal preference for 'themes'.
Something which I am quite shy to admit, is that I always liked the notion of grouping my watches in pairs. Like for example, if I own a PAM36, I'd perhaps like to add a PAM82 into the mix
Nevertheless, the replies made my day. Thanks for sharing.